Legal Ethics Emporium

Legal Ethics Events

2011

June 30, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as panelist on an ethics roundtable sponsored by the National Institute for Government Purchasing and the City of North Miami Beach. Topics included conflicts of interest and transparency in local government under the Sunshine Laws and Public Records Act.

June 3, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and recent UM Law graduates Irma Khoja and Matipa Nyamangwanda presented an interactive ethics training at the Consumer Bankruptcy Symposium. Topics included confidentiality and competence issues involved in practicing law in an “electronic office” using cloud computing, wifi hot spots and social media.

April 15, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist at the ABA 2011 Annual Section of Litigation Conference. The panel was entitled BLOGGING, FRIENDING & TWEETING, OH MY! THE LEGAL & ETHICAL ISSUES OF PLAYING IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA SANDBOX and explored the legal, ethical, and practical issues of social media, potential pitfalls to avoid, and how to act and advise clients on what not to do online.

April 14, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and Miami Law students from the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program presented a CLE training for the Bankruptcy Bar Association of Miami-Dade County. Student Fellows Irma Khoja, Matipa Nyamangwanda, and Bianca Zuluaga, as well as Program Director Jan Jacobowitz, Judge Laurel Myerson-Isicoff and Judge Robert Mark of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida participated in the panel.

Approximately forty members of the Bankruptcy Bar Association (BBA) attended the training at the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Topics included cutting-edge dilemmas such as the ethical issues involved in website advertising, solicitation of clients in chatrooms, and investigating of creditors on Facebook. Issues regarding competency, bankruptcy petition preparers, and appropriate action when a lawyer believes his or her client has perpetrated a fraudulent transfer were also covered. Eric Sliver, the BBA Brown Bag Lunch coordinator, thanked PREP and noted that, the “attendees found the presentation and content to be current, engaging, and helpful.”

April 2, 2011 Jan L Jacobowitz participated as a panelist at the joint meeting of the People of Color Legal Scholarship Conferences, to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The panel was entitiled”Meditative/Contemplative Practices and the Law: Teaching Meditation and other Contemplative Practices in the Classroom as a Tool for Fostering Equality in the Profession.”

The conference is designed as a “town hall meeting” focused on faculty development issues and provides an important opportunity for legal scholars and community leaders to come together to exchange ideas and to discuss legal, cultural, and social issues that affect communities of color.

March 31, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law Students, Benjamin Carter and Daniel Casamayor, Jill Martignetti and Jan Williams, presented an ethics program to Miami Law alumni in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the courtroom of Judge Martin J. Bidwell, JD ’90, at the Broward County courthouse. The students presented hypothetical ethical dilemmas that lawyers may encounter when using Facebook, LinkedIn, and other internet social media outlets.

March 24, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law Students, Brandon Spivack and Kyle Marshall, KellyRains, and Gray Rifkin presented to Miami Law alumni in West Palm Beach, Florida, in the courtroom of Judge Paul G. Hyman Jr. JD ’77, at the United States Bankruptcy Court. The students drafted and presented hypotheticals designed to facilitate the discussion of cutting-edge legal issues arising from the use of technology in the practice of law.

March 10, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Ben Carter, Sarah Laputz, and Courtney Daniels presented a CLE ethics training at White & Case law firm. The training employed an environmental law hypothetical to explore legal ethics issues such as reporting up the ladder, pretexting, and e-discovery.

March 3, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Robert Zavistovski,Candice K. Stephenson, and Charles Muniz presented a CLE Ethics training at The Legal Aid Society of the Dade Bar Association. The training focused on family law and issues arising from client, witness and legal interns use of social media pending the outcome of a case as well as confidentiality issues arising from the use technology and the law.

February 23, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Brandon Spivack, Gray Rifkin, and Charles Muniz presented a CLE ethics training at The City of Miami Beach Office of the City Attorney. The training focused on social media and legal ethics in relation to the Florida Sunshine Laws, the Public Records Act, and e-discovery issues.

February 9, 2011 Jan L. Jacobowitz has been appointed to serve on the Inspector General Selection/Oversight Committee of Broward County. The committee will select Broward County’s first Inspector General and oversee the office for a four year term. Ms. Jacobowitz is serving a vice-chairman of the committee.

January 28, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist in a ethics workshop for the South Florida Regional Transit Authority. The panel discussed issues ethics requirements pertaining public officials as codified in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade County as well as state statutory requirements.

2010

November 18, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Brandon Spivack, Gray Rifkin and Daniela Torrealba presented a CLE ethics training at the Office of the Public Defender. The training focused on ethical issues arising in connection with discovery in criminal cases and the impact of social media in the prosecution and defense of criminal cases.

November 12, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Ben Carter, Jillian Martignetti and Bianca Zualaga, presented an ethics training for the attorneys in Miami’s Corporate Law Department of State Farm Automobile Insurance Company. The training focused on ethical issues arising in e-discovery, UPL and the use of social media for investigating personal injury cases.

October 21, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Matipa Nyamangwanda, Candice Stephenson and Jan Williams presented a CLE ethics training for the Miami Lakes Bar Association. The training focused on ethical issues of confidentiality arising from the use of technology in the practice of law and the impact on litigation of clients and witnesses use of social media.

October 7, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Irma Khoja, Kelly Rains and Robert Zavistovski presented a CLE ethics training for the State Attorney’s Office. The training focused on the ethical implications and impact of social media in criminal prosecutions.

September 30, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Darci Cohen and Amanda Hirst, presented a CLE ethics training for Catholic Charities. The presentation focused upon the ethical issues that arise in defining the attorney client relationship and defining the scope of representation in an immigration, nonprofit context.

August, 24, 2010 JanL. Jacobowitz, Lecturer and Director of the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Program at the University of Miami School of Law, has been appointed to the Public Statements Committee of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. The Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) is an independent national organization of lawyers concentrating in the fields of professional responsibility and legal ethics, including: law professors; bar association counsel; counsel for respondents in disciplinary hearings; ethics expert witnesses; legal malpractice litigators; counsel to disciplinary committees; and in-house law firm ethics. Consistent with its diverse membership, APRL speaks freely on issues of vital importance to the legal profession. The Public Statements Committee is one of the primary vehicles through which APRL voices its views.

July 11, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated at the American Association for Justice Convention in Vancouver, Canada as a panelist on Admiralty Section’s Ethics Panel: Settlements, Structures, and Funding: How to Get a Good Result But Stay Out of Trouble. She wrote, “Trouble at Sea, a Hypothetical,” as a basis for the panel discussion.

June 8, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and UM Law students, Wendi L. Ribaudo and Brandon L.Spivack, presented a CLE ethics seminar on internet advertising for the Dade County BarAssociation at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center in Downtown Miami. The presentation, focused on the new Florida Bar website regulations mandated by the Florida Supreme Court in January, 2010, and scheduled to become effective July 1, 2010.

May 13, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz was a speaker at the Half Moon CLE seminar: Practicing Legal Ethics in the Electronic Law Office.Her presentation, “Ethics for Lawyers in the Digital Age,” involved a discussion of the rules of confidentiality and communication in relation to social media and legal outsourcing.

May 6, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz was recognized by the Dade County Bar Association (DCBA) at its Twenty-First Annual Recognition Luncheon and presented with a certificate of merit for her speech on the Ethical Implications of Social Media at DCBA’s Ethics and Professionalism in Changing Times seminar on October 2, 2009.

April, 29, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz was a featured speaker at The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Spring Seminar for which she conceived an interactive presentation entitled “What “Will” a Lawyer Do?” to explore ethical issues involved in trust and estate law with a focus on ethical wills.

April 23, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students Bryan Harrison, Gayland Hethcoat and Robert Zavistovski presented an ethics training focused on issues of client confidentiality and conflicts at the ABA Entertainment & Sports Law section’s program, “From Hollywood to South Beach: The First Annual International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television and Sports,”

April 12, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students,PaulMasdeu, Madeleine Mannello and Irma Khoja presented an ethics CLE training to attorneys at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. The presentation included the ethical issues involved in dealing with mentally incompetent clients who are in detention, disclosing client identity and risks associated with using social networking sites in practice of law.

April 9, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Ben Carter,John Wilson, and Jason M. Goldstein presented an ethics training at the Dade County Bar Association Professionalism Committee’s symposium on Ethics and Mentoring in ModernPractice. Among the topics discussed were the ethical implications of “of counsel” designations in law firms, ethical issues in firm advertising focusing on firm names and self mailing advertisements, and the ethical implications of fee sharing and paralegal/client communications.

April 8, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Shanna Ford and Milana Kuznetsova presented an ethics CLE training to members of the Gwen S. CherryBlack Women Lawyers Association. The presentation focused on the ethical implications of third-party litigation financing and an attorney’s misuse of client trust account funds as well as a lawyer’s obligation to report professional misconduct and general responsibilities of partners and supervisory lawyers.

March 23, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Darci Cohen and Nema Daghbandan, presented an ethics CLE training for attorneys at the Miami offices of White & Case LLP. The program focused on the ethical implications of unbundled legal services, various fee agreements, and pretexting as it pertains to online social media,

March 9, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami students Amanda Flannelly, MatipaNyamangwanda, Daniel Schwarz, and Bianca Zuluaga, presented a CLE training for the Bankruptcy Bar Association of Miami-Dade County. UM Law Professor and Center for Ethics & Public Service Director Anthony V. Alfieri and The Hon. Judge Laurel Myerson-Isicoff, The Hon. Robert Mark, and The Hon. A. Jay Cristol of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida joined the students on the panel.

Topics included cutting-edge dilemmas such as the ethical issues involved in website advertising, solicitation of clients in chatrooms, and investigating creditors on Facebook. Also covered were issues regarding competency, bankruptcy petition preparers, and appropriate action when a lawyer believes his or her client has perpetrated a fraudulent transfer.

March 5, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Karin Dryer and Kara Strochlic, visited Dade County Bar Association Legal Aid Society to conduct an interactive CLE training. Topics that were discussed included concurrent and successive conflicts of interest, a lawyer’s receipt of wrongfully acquired confidential information belonging to the opposing party, and ethical implications of the use of social media websites, such as Facebook, by members of the legal community.

February 25, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Darci Cohen, and Nema Daghbandan presented an ethics CLE training to members of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers. The training focused on issues involving Facebook, pretexting in the context of social media and unbundling of legal services.

February 11, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Shanna Ford, Irma Khoja, and Bianca Zuluaga , presented an ethics CLE training to members of the Cuban American Bar Association. The presentation focused on ethical issues and limitations of business relationships between attorneys and non-attorneys, and in office sharing arrangements among attorneys. Also discussed was the impact of social media on the legal profession.

February 5, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist at the Association ofProfessional Responsibility Lawyers mid-year meeting in Orlando, Florida. The panel was entitled: I See Your Face before Me: the Ethical Practicalities and Pitfalls of Electronic Networking and Virtual Lives

January 21, 2010 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, William Nicholson, Robert Zavistoski and Milana Kuznetsova, explored cutting-edge ethical issues relevant to the practice of the modern prosecutor at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’sOffice. Topics such as prosecutorial discretion, ex parte communication and the ethical pitfalls of social media and the Internet were explored in the context of an interactive hypothetical.

2009

October 28, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Darci Cohen, Nema Daghbandan and Karin Dryer, conducted a CLE ethics webinar during a Florida Legal Services (FLS) training program in Tampa. The training focused on the potential formation of an attorney-client relationship with individuals other than the client, such as a guardian or adverse party. It also covered client confidentiality issues and included a section about the use of social networking websites in the legal profession.

October 27, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Bryan J. Harrison, Wendi L. Ribaudo and Daniel M. Schwarz, presented a CLE ethics panel at the American Bar Association Section of International Law 2009 Fall Convention at the Eden Roc Hotel on Miami Beach. Pulled straight from the headlines in current international legal news, the presentation involved such hot topics as bribery of foreign government officials and corporate corruption. The discussion focused the ethical implications surrounding the discovery of corporate misconduct, as well as the ethical challenges that arise when firms outsource legal services work to foreign companies and the ethical minefields that lay within the uncensored use of popular social networking websites.

October 22, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Amanda Flannelly, John Wilson, and Brandon Spivack presented an ethics program at Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office. The interactive program revolved around issues of disclosure of evidence, permissible use of certified interns and non-attorneys, and the ethical dilemma’s of blogging.

October 16, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist at the Ethics and The Media Symposium sponsored by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and UM’s School of Communication. The panel was entitled, The Appearance of Impropriety—News Coverage and Politicians.

October 16, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Ben Carter, Jason M. Goldstein and Jenn Malaer conducted CLE ethics training at Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc (LSGMI). The training focused on current, former, and prospective client conflict situations within the various practice areas at LSGMI such as public housing evictions and foreclosure proceedings to unemployment compensation benefits claims. It also discussed lawyer-client relationship formation and the duties of supervising lawyer’s over non-lawyer assistants.

October 9, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students Matipa Nyamangwanda, Paul Masdeu, and Kara Strochlic conducted and interactive CLE ethics training for Catholic Charities. The presentation focused on hypothetical situations implicating a host of ethical dilemmas commonly confronted by immigration lawyers. Topics that were discussed included how a lawyer should respond when (i) faced with unreliable interpreters; (ii) clients who are obviously less than forthcoming; and (iii) immigration judges who have a reputation for arbitrarily denying applications.

June 23, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz presented a model appearance of impropriety statute before the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and The Public Trust. The statute was developed and drafted in her Government and Ethics Seminar.

May 12, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz moderated an ethics panel at the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Conference. She wrote the hypothetical “Rule4.2: To Whom May You Speak,” to facilitate a discussion of the ethical concerns involved in interviewing former and current employee witnesses in the context of labor and employment litigation.

April 24, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Ingrid Garcia Ruiz, Bryan Harrison and Paul Masdeu spoke at the Dade County Bar Association’s Professionalism and Ethics Seminar. The presentation focused on the ethical implications of direct mail advertising and outsourcing.

April 23, 2009 and April 15, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Kevin Harrison, Steve Sarrell, and Rahim West, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training the Bankruptcy Bar Association , respectively, in Broward and in Miami-Dade County.

April 3, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist at the City of North Miami Beach’s, Ethics Symposium 2009. The panel discussed various ethical issues confronting city governments.

April 2, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, David Snyderand William Nicholson joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training for lawyers at Greenberg, Traurig that focused on ethical issues arising when working with corporate clients.

March 26, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Aaron Blynn and Rachel Dubin, presented an ethics training at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office to discuss various ethical issues confronting criminal defense lawyers.

March 13, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Janelle Herrera and David Rosenbaum presented a discussion of the ethical issues surrounding the attorney client relationship as those issues impact the attorneys at Legal Aid of Dade County Bar Association.

March 11, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, William Seitz and Rahim West joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training for Greenberg, Traurig’s bankruptcy department.

March 10, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Rekha Rangachari and Karen Schafir were the featured speakers at the Florida Association for Women Lawyers Lunch & Learn. The presentation focused on ethical issues of screening, outsourcing, email and cultural defenses.

March 6, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Lisa Atkins, Paul Juster, and Will Wenke explored ethics and immigration law at an ethics training presented for the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.

February 27, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a panelist on Spirituality and the Law, Maintaining Sense of Self in the Profession, a CLE discussion presented at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office.

January 16, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz was a featured speaker at The Florida Associations of Women Lawyers Luncheon, The Battle Against Bias—Cultural Awareness and the Practice of Law. Subsequently, she authored, “A Rose by Any Other Name—Enhancing Professionalism through Cultural Competency” (published in FAWL Journal spring 2009–click here)

January 15, 2009 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Rachel Dubin and William Nicholson presented an ethics training at the Miami State Attorney’s Office concerning ethical issues confronting prosecutors.

2008

December 4, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated as a moderator for the Centennial Ethics panel at Shook, Hardy, & Bacon to guide the discussion of the development of a century of legal ethics. Panelists included Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, John Barkett, Judge Peter Fay and Judge Frederika Smith.

November 14 & 19, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz was a featured speaker at the Miami-Dade County Ethics Training for Procurement Professionals. Her presentation focused on the components of ethical decision making and its application to county procurement offices.

November 13, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students Karen Schafrir and William Wenke, presented an ethics training for the Federal Court’s law clerks. The training provided ethical guidance on appropriate conduct in accordance with the Judicial Canons and the Code for Judicial Employees.

November 11,2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Janelle Herrera, Bryan Harrison, and Paul Juster, presented an ethics training for The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association Training’s Annual Conference. The presentation focused on ethical issues involving the role of general counsel, representing a corporation and third party financing of legal fees.

November 7, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, David Snyder, Rekha Rangachari, and David Rosenbaum, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training at Greenberg Traurig. The presentation focused on the ethical implications of practicing law in a high-tech world.

October 24, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Aaron Blynn and Lisa Atkins, presented an ethics training at Legal Services of Greater Miami. The presentation involved the ethical implications of representing clients in the landlord tenant disputes.

October 17, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Kevin Harrison and Ingrid Garcia- Ruiz, moderated a CLE discussion panelat the Miami-Dade County Courthouse entitled: Spirituality and The Law. Panelists include Judge Jennifer Bailey, Professor William Blatt, Professor Charlton Copeland, and Harley Tropin, Esq.

September 26, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Paul Masdeu and Ingrid Garcia Ruiz, presented an ethics training at Catholic Charities. The presentation focused on ethical implications involved in the practice of immigration law.

September 23, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Rahim West and William Wenke, presented a CLE national webinar sponsored by the Center for Competitive Management. The webinar focused on the on fundamental ethics of effective legal representation as applied to the areas of real estate and foreclosure law.

June 5, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz participated on a panel at the Social Security DisabilityLaw Conference entitled: Think That You Can’t Get in Trouble for Talking About an ALJ? Think Again. for which she wrote, “The First Amendment and the Legal Profession: Is Silence Golden?” (Published in the conference book -click here)

March 5, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Laura Dominquez and Ingrid Garcia Ruiz, presented an ethics training for the Legal Aid of Dade County Bar Association. The discussion focused on the ethical issues that arise when clients seek legal advice from paralegals and administrative staff.

February 28, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Serena Josephs and David Snyder, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri in the Manhattan office of Greenberg Traurig to present an ethics training to its lawyers throughout the country. The training focused on conflict and advance waiver issues.

February 22, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Jonathan Mann and Sylvia Rebecca Gutierrez, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training at the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center. The issues discussed the ethical issues involved in client confidentiality and withdrawal from a case.

February 15, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami students, Kevin Harris and Steve Sarrell, presented an ethics training in Miami Dade County to the Bankruptcy Bar Association and students, Rahim West and William Seitz, presented the training in Broward County later in the month. The issues discussed involved conflicts of interest and disclosure obligations of bankruptcy counsel.

January 25, 2008 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Maisie Wong, Aaron Blynn, and Rahim West, presented an ethics trainingto the International Association of Defense Counsel(IADC) during its satellite trial academy. The presentation focused on ethical implications in the area of preparation of witnesses and settlement negotiations.

2007

November 16, 2007 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Janelle Herrera and Karen Shafrir, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, to present an ethics training at Legal Services of Greater Miami. The training focused on issues of confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

November 9, 2007, Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Serena Josephs and David Snyder, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, to present an ethics training at Greenberg Traurig. The training focused on conflicts of interest arising in the representation of corporate clients.

November 1, 2007 Jan L. Jacobowitz and University of Miami School of Law students, Maisie Wong and Bly Aaron Blynn, joined Professor Anthony V. Alfieri to present an ethics training at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. The training focused on ethical issue that arises in dealing with witnesses in criminal cases